The Boston Red Sox have been stressful to watch, to say the least, in 2024. An astronomical number of injuries, strikeouts and a league-leading quantity of errors have plagued Boston and led to some unsatisfactory play.
No single Red Sox is to blame for their rough outings, but Boston fans and many others throughout the league know this year's roster is far from impressive. The team carries few quality veterans and many of Boston's young players are still finding their footing in the major leagues.
Fans have grown to expect a better product from the Red Sox over the past two decades. The lack of star power has shown in the product on the field and not enough has been done by the front office to fix it.
Red Sox fans are growing impatient with the quiet bats and rough defense. Here are some players who could afford to step up their game.
4 players Red Sox fans are losing patience with
Ceddanne Rafaela
There's no doubt that Ceddanne Rafaela's move to shortstop has improved Boston's infield defense — Pablo Reyes, Enmanuel Valdez and David Hamilton were never a real solution to the middle infield issues.
Rafaela's athleticism and speed enable him to make plays the Red Sox's other options could not, but he's hot and cold on both sides of the ball. Rafaela leads the club in errors with eight, twice as many as the player with the second-most in Hamilton.
Rafaela has also been streaky at the plate. He leads the team with 23 RBI and he's blasted four homers, but his strikeout numbers are daunting. Rafaela has whiffed a whopping 41 times compared to just eight walks. He's slashing .201/.233/.362 and, unfortunately, his overall improvement to the Sox's infield defense doesn't outweigh his rough offensive showing so far.
From May 1-10, Rafaela had an eight-game hit streak. If he can find his footing again and reach near that production consistently, Boston's offense will be much improved.
Garrett Cooper + Dominic Smith
It could be argued that the Red Sox's lineup fell apart on April 20, the day Triston Casas left their game against the Pirates with torn cartilage in his ribs. He hit six home runs through 22 games and he flashed his improved defense at first base with some nifty plays.
Garrett Cooper and Dominic Smith will never live up to Casas' production, and the Red Sox knew this before acquiring either of them. Casas was primed to be one of the most offensively consistent players on the team and he was replaced with Cooper, who was designated for assignment by his former club, and Smith, who's been subject to minor-league deals.
It has to be said that Smith and Cooper are both better choices than Bobby Dalbec, who posted seven hits in his 22 games with the Red Sox. Cooper posted just as many in half the time. Smith also has seven hits, but in 12 games.
While Smith and Cooper were better choices for Boston than its internal options, it has plenty of money or prospects to make an exchange for one good first baseman instead of two below-average ones. The Red Sox also had a chance to re-sign Justin Turner during the offseason, and had they done that, the team wouldn't be in this situation in the first place. The Red Sox have lost multiple close games in which a bat like Casas' could've been the difference-maker — instead, they continue to strike out in crucial moments and lose winnable games.
Vaughn Grissom
Red Sox fans heard good things about Vaughn Grissom through reporters and the team for months before his debut. His spring training was hindered by a groin injury and his Sox debut was delayed by a rough bout with the flu.
Grissom hasn't met Boston's inflated expectations yet. He's been the best option at second base so far, though, and he and Rafaela have combined for many quality plays. But when the other option was Valdez, Grissom being the better choice doesn't say much.
The 23-year-old has posted six hits and two RBI in 10 games with the Sox, which is a small sample size. But Grissom's slow start hurts even more when the circumstances of the trade by which he was acquired are considered — the Red Sox paid Chris Sale's entire 2024 salary to send him to Atlanta, just for him to shove for the first time in years, as Grissom recovered from multiple ailments.
Boston fans aren't so much losing patience with Grissom's play as they are with the near-comical stretch of bad luck the Red Sox have experienced. His low level of production in the early going of his tenure doesn't help matters, though.